“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”

Poetry 2018

Have you ever wondered why as women we fall into sexist traps? Is false flattery necessary for our self-esteem? Are we so oblivious to this pattern, we hold ourselves back from reaching our full potential? Has it become more accessible to sound liberated than to go through the problematic psychological changes necessary to become liberated from sexual stereotypes?

The more I embrace Wicca, the more I realize how restrictive my life is. I failed to see how much my life has been determined by male chauvinism. A society defined by male needs. Recently, I heard my eldest son and longtime male friends spout NRA male driven propaganda crap creating panic over the right to own guns. It saddened me how much his father and men like influenced him. Our children’s right to be safe wasn’t a priority.

Daily, the different news spouts about a president who brags he’s a pussy grabber. His blatant disrespect of his wife, family are condoned by his male counterparts. His accepted lies are proof that we exist in a male run, man-made society. Even the media is an extension of the patriarchy that has denied women throughout time. We’ve been crippled by tradition. We are the product sadly of two thousand years of suppression and oppression.

Seeking spiritual guidance is disappointing because the vast majority is led by men. It’s the driving factor for me in seeking Wicca because there isn’t as strong a male influence as other religions.

I read a comparison of our society recently as a tree, metaphorically traditions are merely roots and roots are only one part of the whole tree. The roots provide a base but don’t define the shape or the beauty of the tree as it reaches its potential. It’s the external influences that impact the tree the most. I ask why is it so impossible to see men and women exactly the same except for a minute anatomical difference? It saddens me the answer is primarily because we are socially conditioned to believe otherwise.

I’ve believed for a long time we must embrace a society without gender or role divisions for us to evolve to our full potential as human beings and for discrimination to end. We need to rethink the male-female polarity if the change is going to happen and embrace chromosomal diversity. Sadly, women have been brainwashed in a patriarchal society for so many years they’ve forgotten how to use their positive energy for a better world. We’ve made progress with women’s spiritually, but, we haven’t found a solution for our co-existence because women still seek safe harbors from men instead of working together for human potential. We can’t remain divided or become stagnant if our children’s future is going to be better.

Rupi Kaur says “The most significant lesson a woman can learn is from day one… a woman has everything she needs within herself. It’s the world that has convinced women otherwise.”

Change is inevitable

Reflect, absorb and embrace life
Imitate all things to make one smile
Experience what one should not miss

Resist familiarity, embrace change
Intuition says to be careful but not incapaciated
Excel in ways you never dreamed possible

Reality may knock on your door but
Inspiration will incite desire
Expect prosperity and love as a norm

Loop Poetry is a poetry form created by Hellon. There are no restrictions on the number of stanzas nor on the syllable count for each line. In each stanza, the last word of the first line becomes the first word of line two, the last word of line 2 becomes the first word of line 3, last word of line 3 becomes the first word of line 4.

In this poem, I am not discussing physical or mental abuse but that of our present leadership. Hardworking immigrants betrayed and cast out because they were not born on this soil. Soil that we ourselves stole from the Native Americans with lies and guns. Here we are again, using political tactics, force when needed based on lies. Religious zealots claiming they’re making America great again when in fact all we’re showing is what an abusive culture we really are.

Normally, I do not engage in political commentary on my blog but then something happened to change my mind. A dear woman I’ve had the pleasure of sharing many writing experiences was one of the innocent immigrants tossed out of our country. She’s been twenty two years, has a social security card, worked, paid taxes. She’s done everything asked of her but time and time again red tape has denied her citizenship. She was tossed in a detention camp and treated similarly to how Hilter treated the Jews. We refused to believe that atrocities happened then as well. We’ve become a country that has selective sight, we overlook anything that doesn’t directly affect us. I’m guilty as well or I was until this became personal. She is a delightful woman who did not deserve to cast out of our country. She has broken no laws. She reported every week faithfully as required by the immigration board in Atlanta. That belief in the system and that goodness would outweigh evil allowed this to happen. She should have fled but she didn’t.

We need to take our country back from this nightmare it is existing in. Normally, I don’t support violence but I’m beginning to believe revolution must occur for these tragedies to end. Innocent lives should not be treated as if they have no value. Families should not be ripped apart because of laws pushed by parties to gain influence.

I speak for the women, the children like my friend that believed this country was special but were hurt by the deception of our lies, America is not great. Bullies have become the new norm.

“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts. It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.”

I’ve been working on poetry forms again. The focus I find is helping me rethink my word usage in my book. Writers are guilty of using extra verbiage that doesn’t add to the story.

I decided to give a Fib aka Fibonacci for short a try because of its rigid structure.

Form: Fibonacci~ 8 Lines~ Syllabic Structure: 1/1/2/3/5/8/13/21

In mathematics, the Fibonacci numbers are the numbers in the following integer sequence, called the Fibonacci sequence, and characterized by the fact that every number after the first two is the sum of the two preceding. Fib is an experimental Western poetry form, bearing similarities to haiku, but based on the Fibonacci sequence. That is, the typical fib and one version of the contemporary Western haiku both follow a strict structure. The typical fib is a six line, 20 syllable poem with a syllable count by line of 1/1/2/3/5/8 – with as many syllables per line as the line’s corresponding place in the Fibonacci sequence; the specific form of contemporary Western haiku uses three (or fewer) lines of no more than 17 syllables in total. The only restriction on a Fib is that the syllable count follows the Fibonacci sequence.

Barriers Aside

I

need
freedom
to take steps.
A bold move beyond
the usual path love follows.
I want no boundaries, no rules to confine my heart.
I wonder if you are the one to join me on this elusive passion-filled journey.